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Purpose To ensure that the use of surgical training tools results in improvement of surgical skills, it is necessary to be able to measure and assess surgeons’ skills. We established the Short-Time Power of Difference (STPOD) method as an evaluation tool for evaluating targeting technique. The STPOD method evaluates the distance from the actual movement of the forceps to the shortest linear path between two points in a short time period. We examined the effectiveness of the STPOD method as a new forceps kinematic analysis. Methods Six residents were categorized as novices and six urologists as experts. All participants performed box trainer training and LapPASS® Simulator training. During the procedure, objective scores (time, distance, and STPOD) were recorded. STPOD (Power) evaluated motion smoothness and STPOD (Stop) evaluated the stop time of the forceps. Results STPOD (Stop) on the right side of the experts was significantly lower than that of the novices in the box trainer. Furthermore, there were significant differences in the distances of left side and STPOD (Power) between the experts and the novices in the simulator. In the correlation of parameters between the box trainer and the simulator, time showed the strongest correlation, STPOD (Power) and distance showed a mild correlation. Conclusion We showed the construct validity of STPOD (Power) and STPOD (Stop) using both the box trainer and the simulator. This method is a good evaluation tool for assessing a physician’s skill; however, there are much more complex motions that are performed in actual surgery. Future studies are needed to focus on evaluation in an environment closer to actual surgery and comparing with other existing methods.

Nivolumab is part of the standard therapy for mRCC. Although deep and long-lasting responses are seen in some patients, the benefit of treatment is limited to some patients and the majority of patients will experience disease progression. PD-L1 is still under evaluation as a predictive biomarker and there is an urgent need to establish biomarkers for the treatment of nivolumab. Here, we investigate C-reactive protein (CRP) at 1 month after treatment of nivolumab as a target to predict the response of patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC) to nivolumab.After approval of the study by our institutional review board, 64 patients with mRCC who underwent nivolumab treatment at Kanagawa Cancer Center and Yokohama City University Hospital were enrolled. The patient characteristics, blood examination data at start of nivolumab treatment and 1 month after treatment, response to treatment and progression-free survival (PFS) were evaluated. Tumour responses were assessed according to both the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (RECIST) 1.1 and the immune RECIST (iRECIST) criteria. Moreover, in 12 patients who agreed to an additional blood examination, several serum inflammatory factors were investigated and their correlation with CRP level was examined.The median follow-up was 8.3 months (range 0.2-29.8 months). The median PFS period was 4.5 months and the median immune-PFS (iPFS) period was 5.3 months. RECIST 1.1 criteria underestimated the benefits of nivolumab in four (6.4%) cases. Multivariate analyses showed that an Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status (≥ 2) at start of treatment and CRP level at 1 month after treatment (≥ 1.5 mg/dL) were independent risk factors for a poor iPFS of nivolumab. The CRP level at baseline was not an independent prognostic factor for iPFS. When compared with the responder group (iCR + iPR + iSD), the non-responder group (iPD) had a significantly higher CRP levels at 1 month after treatment (p 0.001). In the responder group, there was significant decrease in the CRP level after nivolumab treatment when compared with the baseline (p = 0.002), whereas there was a significant increase in the non-responder group (p = 0.019). Even patients with high baseline CRP (≥ 1.5 mg/dL) obtained good iPFS if CRP was decreased ( 1.5 mg/dL) 1 month after treatment. In addition, the classification of Glasgow prognostic score (GPS), which is a cumulative prognostic score based on CRP and albumin, was a significant predictor for iPFS. A strong correlation (|r| 0.7) with CRP level at 1 month after treatment was seen for sCD163, IL-34, MMP-1, MMP-2, osteopontin, sTNF-R1 and sTNF-R2. Of these, MMP-1 and MMP-2 were not correlated at baseline.Our results indicated that the CRP level at 1 month after treatment with nivolumab appears to be a promising predictive biomarker for response to nivolumab treatment in patients with mRCC. It is clinically useful to be able to predict the effect within a short period. Further prospective trials are needed to prove these preliminary findings.

Background The treatment of advanced or metastatic renal cell carcinoma (RCC) has drastically changed since the approval of immune checkpoint therapy. Nivolumab is a treatment option for patients with metastatic RCC, previously treated with targeted antiangiogenic therapy. The efficacy of nivolumab for patients with RCC was established by the Checkmate 025 clinical trial. Chromophobe RCC (CRCC) represents around 5% of RCC cases, but non-clear cell RCC (non-ccRCC) subtypes were excluded from the Checkmate 025 clinical trial. We report a case in which the use of nivolumab as the seventh-line therapy elicited a significant response in the treatment of metastatic CRCC with sarcomatoid differentiation. Case presentation We report a case of a 41-year-old woman with metastatic CRCC with sarcomatoid differentiation. She was treated with sunitinib, pazopanib, everolimus, sorafenib, axtinib, and temsirolimus, but treatment was discontinued because of disease progression or strong adverse events. Seventh-line treatment with nivolumab was initiated and significant clinical improvement was noted after 4 cycles. The treatment was well-tolerated with no significant side effects and the patient continues with nivolumab treatment at present. Conclusions Nivolumab may be an attractive treatment option for non-ccRCC patients with sarcomatoid differentiation that exhibited aggressive characteristics and poor prognosis. Further investigation is warranted.